Closing summary
The time in Kyiv is just coming up to 9pm. Here is a roundup of the day’s main news:
A Russian-held bridge that connects southern Ukraine to the annexed Crimean peninsula has been badly damaged and is “unusable” at present, a Moscow-installed official said on Friday, AFP reports.
The United States slapped sanctions on Friday on two Russian intelligence officers who attempted to interfere in a local American election as part of Moscow’s “global malign influence operations,” the Treasury Department told Reuters.
Volodymyr Zelenskiy has said there will be “personnel changes” after a bomb shelter investigation into the deaths of three people who were locked out during a missile strike.
Russia said on Friday it was barring entry to more European officials in response to the EU’s decision to impose new sanctions on Moscow over the conflict in Ukraine, AFP reports.
The commander of Ukraine’s ground forces has confirmed for the first time that the main force of his offensive reserve is yet to be committed into battle with Russia, saying: “Everything is still ahead.”
Wagner group head Yevgeny Prigozhin on Friday questioned Russia’s justifications for invading Ukraine, criticising the country’s military top brass for “deceiving” Russian society.
At least two people were killed and several taken to hospital in a Russian attack on the Kherson region, the governor has said. Governor Oleksandr Prokudin said on Telegram that a municipal transport company had been hit in the attack, reports Reuters.
The EU has agreed an 11th round of sanctions against Russia including export bans on third countries helping the Kremlin circumvent existing crackdowns.
Ukraine’s armed forces have stopped a Russian offensive in the east of the country towards the cities of Kupiansk and Lyman, a senior defence official has claimed.
Russia has almost doubled its floating mammal pens in Sevastopol, according to British defence officials, and they are “highly likely” to contain trained bottlenose dolphins.
Ukrainian air defences shot down 13 Russian cruise missiles heading towards a military airfield in the western Khmelnitskyi region early on Friday, the Ukrainian air force said.
Updated
Bridge connecting Ukraine to Crimean peninsula 'unusable' after attack, says Russian-installed governor
A Russian-held bridge that connects southern Ukraine to the annexed Crimean peninsula has been badly damaged and is “unusable” at present, a Moscow-installed official said on Friday, AFP reports.
“It is unusable for movement,” said Vladimir Saldo, the Moscow-installed governor of the southern Ukrainian region of Kherson, adding that the Chongar bridge would be closed to traffic for around 20 days.
“The bridge sustained more damage than we initially thought,” Saldo said in televised remarks, adding repairs were underway.
On Thursday, Russian officials said that a Ukrainian strike damaged a bridge that connects Crimea, which Russia annexed from Ukraine in 2014, to a part of the Ukrainian region of Kherson that is partly held by Moscow.
Saldo earlier said that Ukraine had used British-supplied Storm Shadow cruise missiles to strike the bridge. Moscow last year blamed Ukraine for a blast on the main bridge connecting Crimea to the Russian mainland.
Updated
President Volodymyr Zelenskiy ordered the creation of a special commission on Friday to carry out an audit of heads of military draft offices in regions across Ukraine, Reuters reports.
After meeting his top military commanders, Zelenskiy said the commission would be headed by General Oleksandr Pavliuk, who is first deputy defence minister.
The decision follows Ukrainian media reports of corruption allegations against the head of a draft office.
Held the NSDC meeting. Three issues on the agenda. The key ones:
— Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) June 23, 2023
We reviewed the situation with shelters in the regions, districts and cities that the enemy is terrorizing most intensively. The results are bad. Almost all over the country. The situation is especially cynical and… pic.twitter.com/4lkgOB8ihr
Zelenskiy also said government was considering proposals to increase criminal liability for corruption offenses in the judiciary, with punishments including “10 to 15 years with confiscation of property”.
“This should apply to those who extort money, take money, maintain this system of corruption at all its levels. There should be integrity checks of judges, and not only before their appointment”, Zelenskiy said.
“Time can, unfortunately, change people about whom there was a positive conclusion at the beginning of their work in the courts. And I believe that it is worth checking, including with the use of a polygraph.”
Updated
Ukraine signalled on Friday that the main push in its counteroffensive against Russian forces was still to come, with some troops not yet deployed and the operation so far intended to “set up the battlefield.”
The country’s senior officials said it has retaken eight villages in the early stages of its most ambitious assault since Russia’s full-scale invasion 16 months ago, but President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said this week that gains had been “slower than desired.”
Addressing the pace of the Ukrainian advances, three senior officials on Friday sent the clearest signal so far that the main part of the counteroffensive has not yet begun.
“Offensive operations of the Armed Forces of Ukraine continue in a number of areas. Formation operations are underway to set up the battlefield,” presidential adviser Mykhailo Podolyak said on Twitter.
“The counteroffensive is not a new season of a Netflix show. There is no need to expect action and buy popcorn.”
Real war is not a Hollywood blockbuster. The counteroffensive is not a new season of a Netflix show. There is no need to expect action and buy popcorn. Offensive operations of the Armed Forces of Ukraine continue in a number of areas. Formation operations are underway to set up…
— Михайло Подоляк (@Podolyak_M) June 23, 2023
Updated
U.S. President Joe Biden’s national security adviser, Jake Sullivan, is traveling to Denmark this weekend to participate in a meeting about Ukraine which may include some countries that have refused to condemn the invasion.
The talks in Copenhagen are being organized by Ukraine “to discuss basic principles of peace,” a U.S. official said on Friday.
India, South Africa and Brazil were among the countries invited but it was unclear yet whether they were attending, a source familiar with the matter told Reuters. India and South Africa have not condemned Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva in April condemned the violation of Ukraine’s territorial integrity by Russia and again called for mediation to end the war.
Western countries that back the war have also been invited. The U.S. official said Ukraine invited a variety of countries and Denmark agreed to host the meeting in Copenhagen. It will include national security advisers and political directors from various countries invited.
The session is considered an informal gathering and not a formal summit. No specific outcomes and joint communiques are expected to come out of it.
Updated
US sanctions Russian individuals who attempted to interfere in American election
The United States slapped sanctions on Friday on two Russian intelligence officers who attempted to interfere in a local American election as part of Moscow’s “global malign influence operations,” the Treasury Department told Reuters.
The two officers, Yegor Sergeyevich Popov, 31, and Aleksei Borisovich Sukhodolov, 49, both members of Russia’s Federal Security Service, have worked to undermine democratic processes in the U.S. and other countries through a network of co-conspirators, the department said in a statement.
The department said both have worked with Aleksandr Viktorovich Ionov, a Russian the U.S. Justice Department charged last year with conducting a multi-year effort to use political groups in Florida, Georgia and California to interfere in elections.
“The United States will not tolerate threats to our democracy, and today*s action builds on the whole of government approach to protect our system of representative government,” Treasury official Brian Nelson said.
The department did not say what specific election the two Russian men are accused of attempting to influence.
Updated
Ukraine’s financial results have improved this year, with budget revenues increasing by 45% in May compared to the same period a year ago, Finance Minister Serhiy Marchenko said on Friday.
“In 2023, we have much better financial results than a year ago. Thanks to strong financial support and comprehensive measures implemented by the government, we ensure a balanced budget and financing of critical expenditures, primarily in the social sphere,” Marchenko, whose country was invaded by Russia in February 2022, said in a statement. “Monetary and fiscal policies are under control.”
It comes as Ukraine’s defence minister set out his expectations ahead of the NATIO summit in Vilnius.
Ukraine was seeking a clear signal and formula for Kyiv to become a NATO member, Reuters reported.
Zelenskiy pledges 'personnel changes' after bomb shelter investigation
Volodymyr Zelenskiy has said there will be “personnel changes” after a bomb shelter investigation into the deaths of three people who were locked out during a missile strike.
The Ukrainian president said after a meeting of the National Security and Defence Council: “A quarter of bomb shelters in Ukraine and a third in Kyiv are unfit for use.”
His comments, shared on Telegram, come after an air raid shelters audit into the deaths of three people on 1 June.
“The decision of the National Security Council is to bring the guilty to justice, and to get all protective structures in the proper condition,” he said.
He provided no other details of the decision or who might be punished, but posted a video of top government and military officials raising their hands in a vote at a round table, reports Reuters.
Earlier today he called for “collective efforts and collective solidarity”:
The world has gone through different wars, and the more wars have destroyed lives, the greater was the understanding that defense against aggression and prevention of aggression require collective efforts and collective solidarity. pic.twitter.com/EA07JUMSsO
— Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) June 23, 2023
Updated
At least three people died in Russian attacks in southern Ukraine on Friday – including two who died at a trolleybus company in Kherson (see also 10:42 post), regional officials said.
Oleksandr Prokudin, the governor of the Kherson region, said two men aged 55 and 43 were killed by “targeted fire” on the Kherson trolleybus company in what he described as “another Russian terrorist attack”, reports Reuters.
The prosecutor’s office said the attack took place around 10.20 am (0820 BST) and that it had launched an investigation.
Yuriy Malashko, the governor of the Zaporizhzhia region, wrote on Telegram that a 35-year-old man had been killed in a Russian artillery barrage on the village of Mala Tokmachka and that four people had been wounded elsewhere in the region.
Updated
At a meeting of Ukraine’s National Security and Defence Council, Volodymyr Zelenskiy said his attention would be on three topics: security, courts and the country’s future in the EU.
The Kyiv Post reports:
⚡️Volodymyr #Zelensky held a meeting of the #NSDC
— KyivPost (@KyivPost) June 23, 2023
“Attention to three major topics. The first is people's security. The second is the courts. The third is our future in the EU,” the President said. pic.twitter.com/qUhmtlQtfS
Russia bars entry to EU officials in response to new sanctions imposed on Moscow
Russia said on Friday it was barring entry to more European officials in response to the EU’s decision to impose new sanctions on Moscow over the conflict in Ukraine, AFP reports.
“In response to these unfriendly actions, the Russian side has significantly expanded the list of representatives of European institutions and EU member states who ... are prohibited from entering the territory of our state,” the foreign ministry said in a statement.
It did not specify the number of officials that were being sanctioned or give their names.
The EU this week agreed an 11th package of penalties against Russia over its large-scale military offensive in Ukraine, including measures aimed at clamping down on evasion of restrictions already in place.
“We confirm that any unfriendly actions taken by western countries will continue to receive a timely and adequate response,” Russia’s foreign ministry added.
Updated
The commander of Ukraine’s ground forces has confirmed for the first time that the main force of his offensive reserve is yet to be committed into battle with Russia, saying: “Everything is still ahead.”
In an exclusive interview from a military base in east Ukraine, Col Gen Oleksandr Syrskyi, spoke of the stresses and difficulties of the fight, with Moscow launching its own offensive efforts in recent days.
He said the Russian general staff had anticipated where Ukraine’s forces were at their most dangerous but issued a warning to the Kremlin that he was hunting down the lethal weakness in their lines.
‘Everything is still ahead’: inside a secret military base with top Ukraine general
Syrskyi, who led the Ukrainian defence of Kyiv last spring and shocked the world with a counteroffensive that liberated huge swathes of north-east Ukraine in the autumn, said the world had to be patient.
Here is a summary of today’s news:
At least two people were killed and several taken to hospital in a Russian attack on the Kherson region, the governor has said. Governor Oleksandr Prokudin said on Telegram that a municipal transport company had been hit in the attack, reports Reuters.
The EU has agreed an 11th round of sanctions against Russia including export bans on third countries helping the Kremlin circumvent existing crackdowns. It will mean a crackdown on “deceptive practices” including the use of tankers from other countries to carry Russian crude oil into EU ports.
Ukraine’s armed forces have stopped a Russian offensive in the east of the country towards the cities of Kupiansk and Lyman, a senior defence official has claimed.
Russia has almost doubled its floating mammal pens in Sevastopol, according to British defence officials, and they are “highly likely” to contain trained bottlenose dolphins. In its latest intelligence briefing, the Ministry of Defence said it believed the animals were intended to counter enemy divers.
Ukrainian air defences shot down 13 Russian cruise missiles heading towards a military airfield in the western Khmelnitskyi region early on Friday, the Ukrainian air force said.
Updated
Ukraine’s air force has provided further details of an incident on Friday in which it downed an entire barrage of 13 cruise missiles fired by Russian forces overnight, targeting an airfield in the west of the country, AFP reports.
“Thirteen of the occupiers’ cruise missiles were destroyed on June 23... This time, the attack was aimed at a military airfield in the Khmelnytskyi region,” the Ukrainian air force said on social media.
Russia launched waves of aerial attacks with cruise missiles and attack drones over the winter, prompting Kyiv to appeal to its Western allies to bolster its air defence systems.
“The launches were carried out around midnight from the Caspian Sea from four Tu-95MS bombers,” the air force statement said.
The mayor of Khmelnytskyi Oleksandr Symchyshyn reported explosions in the town with a pre-war population of around 275,000 and praised Ukrainian air defence systems.
Updated
Russia will not disclose any details about the nuclear weapons it is deploying on the territory of Belarus, the Interfax news agency quoted the deputy foreign minister Sergei Ryabkov as saying on Friday, Reuters reports.
Ryabkov also said Russia had no plans to inform the US about tests of its nuclear-powered underwater drone Poseidon because they did not fall under existing verification agreements, according to the state news agency Tass.
The news comes as regional Ukrainian officials said at least three people were killed in Russian attacks in southern Ukraine on Tuesday, including two who died after a trolleybus company came under fire in the city of Kherson.
Oleksandr Prokudin, the governor of the Kherson region, said two men aged 55 and 43 had been killed by “targeted fire” on the Kherson trolleybus company in what he described as “another Russian terrorist attack”. Several other people were injured, he said in a post on the Telegram messaging app.
Updated
Kyiv urged Ukrainians not to panic or stockpile iodine tablets after President Volodymyr Zelenskiy alleged that Russia had prepared a radiation leak at an occupied nuclear plant, AFP reports.
Zelenskiy said this week that Russian forces controlling Zaporizhzhia – Europe’s biggest nuclear plant – were planning a “terror attack” by orchestrating a radiation leak.
The Kremlin said it was a “lie” but the president’s warning put many Ukrainians on alert with demand for iodine at many pharmacies sky-rocketing.
“Read and share but don’t panic! Don’t play the enemy’s game. President Zelenskiy said nothing new. Russia is a terrorist country from which, like a monkey with a grenade, you can expect anything,” the Ukrainian health ministry said.
In a separate statement on Friday, it warned against the adverse implications of incorrectly administering iodine, warning it could be fatal.
Updated
Wagner chief accuses military of 'deceiving' Russian society over reasons for invasion
Wagner group head Yevgeny Prigozhin on Friday questioned Russia’s justifications for invading Ukraine, criticising the country’s military top brass for “deceiving” Russian society.
In a 30-minute video posted on his Telegram channel, Prigozhin dismissed Moscow’s claims that Kyiv was planning to launch an offensive on the Russian-controlled territories in eastern Ukraine in February 2022.
“There was nothing extraordinary happening on the eve of February 24,” Prigozhin said.
“The ministry of defence is trying to deceive the public and the president and spin the story that there was insane levels of aggression from the Ukrainian side and that they were going to attack us together with the whole Nato block,” the Wagner head said.
“The special operation was started for a completely different reason.”
Prigozhin also said Russia’s leadership could have avoided the war by negotiating with Ukraine’s president, Volodomyr Zelenskiy.
Updated
Russia will look at all possible ways to protect its legal rights in a case initiated by Ukraine’s state-owned Naftogaz energy company in the United States, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Friday, according to Reuters.
Naftogaz said on Friday it had taken legal action in the US against Russia to try to recover $5bn awarded in The Hague as compensation for damages and lost property in Crimea.
The Kremlin also said reports that arms supplied to Ukraine by the west were finding their way to other countries showed the risk of such weapons being sold on by criminal groups.
They also rejected western allegations that Russia is a destabilising force in Africa, saying its work there was not aimed at any third country and should not be a concern to anyone.
Updated
Nato on Friday concluded its largest ever air force deployment exercise in Europe in a show of force against potential threats such as Russia, AFP reports.
The German-led “Air Defender 23” manoeuvres brought together about 250 military aircraft from 25 Nato and partner countries including Japan and Sweden, which is bidding to join the alliance.
Air Defender was conceived in 2018 in part as a response to the Russian annexation of Crimea from Ukraine four years before, though the head of the German air force, Ingo Gerhartz, previously insisted it was “not targeted at anyone”.
By contrast, the US ambassador to Germany, Amy Gutmann, said the exercise would show “beyond a shadow of a doubt the agility and the swiftness of our allied force” and was intended to send a message to countries including Russia.
“I would be pretty surprised if any world leader was not taking note of what this shows in terms of the spirit of this alliance, which means the strength of this alliance, and that includes Mr Putin,” she told reporters, referring to the Russian president.
Updated
The former Nato secretary general Anders Fogh Rasmussen and the chief of staff to the Ukrainian president, Andriy Yermak, have called for assurance of Ukraine’s long-term security, saying “there is no safe space in the grey zone between Nato and Russia”.
In a joint op-ed piece for Le Monde, they wrote:
The war shows there is no safe space in the grey zone between Nato and Russia. Sweden and Finland have recognised this. Faced with a revanchist Russia, neutrality provides no security. The only way to protect Ukraine from further Russian aggression is to embed it into the Euro-Atlantic security architecture.
Updated
Oleksandr Prokudin, Kherson’s regional governor, has described today’s attack that killed at least two people (see also 1002 BST) as “another Russian terrorist attack” in which he said a municipal transport company was hit by “targeted fire”.
He posted several photographs from the scene, reports Reuters, with one showing what appeared to be a dead man in the foreground and two trolleybuses in the background. Other images showed emergency workers attending to the wounded.
The prosecutor’s office said the attack took place around 10.20am Kyiv time (0820 BST) and that it had launched an investigation.
Russia, which began its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, denies targeting civilians.
Updated
Guardian reporter Pjotr Sauer says while Putin is likely to welcome the “anti-elite rhetoric” of the latest interview by Yevgeny Prigozhin, head of the Wagner group (see also 09:03 BST), he “can’t see this going down well”:
In his latest interview, Prigozhin questions the main justifications for Russia’s war in Ukraine (defence of the Donbas) and says it would have been possible to negotiate with Zelenskiy.
— Pjotr Sauer (@PjotrSauer) June 23, 2023
While Putin likely welcomes Prigozhin’s anti-elite rhetoric, can’t see this going down well pic.twitter.com/RJICbBtSbU
Here’s a map from AFP showing the location of Khmelnitskyi, where Ukraine said it downed 13 cruise missiles fired by Russian forces overnight (see also 06.01 BST):
#UPDATE Ukraine said on Friday it had downed an entire barrage of 13 cruise missiles fired by Russian forces overnight targeting an airfield in the west of the country ➡️ https://t.co/JN9MaDOUhz#AFPgraphics map locates city of Khmelnytskyi, near the airfield pic.twitter.com/iGbecprzWU
— AFP News Agency (@AFP) June 23, 2023
At least two people killed and several taken to hospital in Kherson region, says governor
At least two people were killed and several taken to hospital in a Russian attack on the Kherson region, the governor has said.
Governor Oleksandr Prokudin said on Telegram that a municipal transport company had been hit in the attack, reports Reuters.
A 55-year-old man was killed on the spot and five others were taken to hospital, he said. In a later post, he had said a 43-year-old man had also died of his wounds in hospital.
Updated
Security expert Maria Avdeeva said she was surprised by how many people were returning to Kharkiv today from Kyiv.
This morning at Kyiv railway station. Amazed at how many people are returning home to Kharkiv. pic.twitter.com/E5TanoODxx
— Maria Avdeeva (@maria_avdv) June 23, 2023
Updated
EU agrees 11th round of sanctions against Russia including crackdown on 'deceptive practices'
The EU has agreed an 11th round of sanctions against Russia including export bans on third countries helping the Kremlin circumvent existing crackdowns.
It will mean a crackdown on “deceptive practices” including the use of tankers from other countries to carry Russian crude oil into EU ports.
Importers of iron and steel goods will also face tighter restrictions on raw materials that have been processed in a third country to prove they have not originated in Russia.
The new “anti-circumvention” tool will allow the EU to “restrict the sale, supply, transfer or export of specified sanctioned goods and technology to certain third countries”.
It has also added 87 new entities to the list of those directly supporting Russia’s military campaign in Ukraine with export restrictions for advanced technology items to countries now including China, Uzbekistan, the United Arab Emirates, Syria and Armenia.
Josep Borrell, the EU’s high representative for foreign affairs and security, said:
Today’s package increases our pressure on Russia and Putin’s war machine. By tackling sanctions circumvention, we will maximise pressure on Russia by depriving it further of the resources it so desperately needs to allow it to pursue its illegal war against Ukraine.
Updated
Ukraine claims to have halted Russian offensive in the east, saying it has 'stopped the enemy' near Kupiansk and Lyman
Ukraine’s armed forces have stopped a Russian offensive in the east of the country towards the cities of Kupiansk and Lyman, a senior defence official has claimed.
The deputy defence minister Hanna Maliar told Ukrainian television: “We had very fierce battles in the Kupiansk and Lyman directions, but our soldiers stopped the enemy there.”
Ukraine is in the initial stages of its most ambitous counterattack to date since Russia’s 2022 invasion. It has retaken eight villages, it said, in what Reuters described as its most substantial gains on the battlefield for seven months.
But Russia still holds swathes of territory in eastern and southern Ukraine, and Ukrainian forces have yet to push to the main defensive lines that Russia has had months to prepare.
Maliar said: “We still have the main events ahead of us. And the main blow is still to come. Indeed, some of the reserves – these are staged things – will be activated later.”
Although minefields were slowing them down, she said Ukraine’s military operation in the south was “moving according to plan”. She added: “It is not necessary to expect the offensive to be something very fast.”
Updated
Vladimir Putin is understood to be faced with “increasingly raucous infighting” among his entourage.
While it does not pose an immediate threat to the Russian president, reports the Associated Press, some analysts say failure to stop the fallouts between Yevgeny Prigozhin, head of the Wagner group, and Russian military leaders could signal a shift in Russia’s politics and lead to further internal disagreements.
It comes after a video showed the millionaire contractor stood in front of dead bodies of his troops in Ukraine shouting insults at Russian military leaders and blaming them for the deaths.
“They came here as volunteers and they died to let you lounge in your red wood offices,” Prigozhin shouted. “You are sitting in your expensive clubs, your children are enjoying good living and filming videos on YouTube. Those who don’t give us ammunition will be eaten alive in hell!”
Nigel Gould-Davies, a senior fellow for Russia and Eurasia at the International Institute for Strategic Studies and the editor of its Strategic Survey, told AP that while Putin did not appear to be losing influence, he said: “There are growing signs of deep dysfunction, anxiety, worry about the war and real problems in marshalling the resources necessary to fight it effectively.”
Updated
The FSB, the Russian security service, has reportedly detained five people who it claims were trying to buy 1kg of radioactive Caesium-137 for $3.5m on behalf of a citizen of Ukraine.
Citing the Tass news agency, Reuters said the FSB claimed the substance had been intended to be used to stage an incident with purported weapons of mass destruction in an attempt to discredit Russia.
Reuters could not independently confirm the assertions and there was no immediate comment from Ukraine.
Updated
One person was killed and another injured in southern Zaporizhzhia as Ukrainian forces shelled a road, reports Reuters, citing Russian news agency Tass.
It said the incident, in a region that Russia now considers part of its own territory, took place near the village of Novohorivka.
Updated
Russia nearly doubles floating mammal pens thought to contain trained bottlenose dolphins
Russia has almost doubled its floating mammal pens in Sevastopol, according to British defence officials, and they are “highly likely” to contain trained bottlenose dolphins.
In its latest intelligence briefing, the Ministry of Defence said it believed the animals were intended to counter enemy divers.
The Russian navy, which also uses beluga whales and seals for missions, has invested heavily in its Black Sea fleet’s main base since last summer.
Latest Defence Intelligence update on the situation in Ukraine - 23 June 2023.
— Ministry of Defence 🇬🇧 (@DefenceHQ) June 23, 2023
Find out more about Defence Intelligence's use of language: https://t.co/ALCbH4WFSc
🇺🇦 #StandWithUkraine 🇺🇦 pic.twitter.com/lCXZ3gySdu
The MoD also shared images of the site. The Crimean port came under full Russian control in 2014.
Hi, I’ll be looking after the liveblog for the next few hours. Please get in touch with any tips or suggestions: miranda.bryant@theguardian.com
Updated
Here are some of the latest images coming in from Ukraine over the news agency wires.
Updated
Anti-aircraft fire has downed a drone over the southern Russian city of Kursk, near the Ukrainian border, the regional governor said.
Roman Starovoit said on Telegram that its air defence system had been in action twice, Reuters reports. He did not mention any damage or casualties and asked residents to avoid any fallen debris.
A series of attacks from the air have been launched across the Ukrainian border into southern Russia. There have also been armed incursions for which groups saying they oppose the Kremlin have claimed responsibility.
Ukraine routinely declines to comment on such attacks or incursions.
Updated
Russian forces have shelled nine communities in Ukraine’s Sumy region, with more than 147 explosions heard, the Kyiv Independent has reported, citing the north-eastern region’s military administration.
Russian forces shelled the area 21 times on Thursday, injuring a person and damaging a water tower, residential buildings and other homes, according to an administration post on Facebook.
It said mortars, artillery, mines and airstrikes were used.
Since parts of Sumy were freed from Russian forces in April last year, the region has experienced regular shelling and attacks from across the border with Russia.
Updated
Ukraine downs missile barrage headed for western airfield, says military
Ukrainian air defences shot down 13 Russian cruise missiles heading towards a military airfield in the western Khmelnitskyi region early on Friday, the Ukrainian air force said.
It said the missiles had been launched by Russian bombers from the Caspian Sea area, Reuters reports.
The region’s acting governor, Serhiy Tyurin, said the attack was directed at the Viysk airfield near the Khmelnitskyi region.
The missiles were launched from several Tupolev Tu-95 bombers, he said on Telegram, adding that they were intercepted mainly in the Khmelnitskyi region.
Updated
Opening summary
Welcome back to our live coverage of Russia’s war in Ukraine. This is Adam Fulton and here’s a roundup of the latest developments.
Air raid alerts were in effect throughout Ukraine early on Friday, the military said, while warnings of Russian missile and drone attacks were issued over wide areas.
Telegram channels reported explosions in several regions, from Lviv in the west – far from the frontlines – to Kherson in the south, Reuters reports. There were no immediate reports of strikes or casualties.
Meanwhile, Russia launched air attacks on the Viysk airfield near Ukraine’s Khmelnitskyi region overnight, said the acting governor, Serhiy Tyurin.
More on that story shortly. In other news:
The United Nations secretary general, António Guterres, has called out Russia for killing 136 children in Ukraine in 2022 and added its armed forces to a global list of offenders, according to a report to the UN security council. The UN also verified that Russian armed forces and affiliated groups injured 518 children and carried out 480 attacks on schools and hospitals. The forces used 91 children as human shields, according to the report. Guterres was “particularly shocked” by the high number of child casualties, he said in the report, while also saying he was disturbed by the high number of offences against children by Ukrainian forces.
Russia has formed special groups to collect and hide bodies of people killed in the aftermath of the Kakhovka dam breach in southern Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelenskiy said. The Ukrainian president said in a video address on Thursday that the situation in Russian-occupied parts of the region was “catastrophic to put it mildly”.
Ukraine’s prime minister has said its counteroffensive will take time but he is optimistic about its success. Denys Shmyhal’s comments, on the sidelines of a Ukraine reconstruction conference in London on Thursday, came after Zelenskiy said the counteroffensive might be going “slower than desired” but he would not needlessly risk soldiers’ lives to meet international expectations. Moscow had suggested there appeared to have been a break in the counteroffensive’s intensity.
Foreign donors pledged €60bn of new financial support for Ukraine, the UK said, as the international conference in London aimed at funding the country’s reconstruction closed. The commitments from governments and international organisations targeted supporting Ukraine in the short- and medium-term, the British foreign minister, James Cleverly, said on Thursday.
Russia fired cruise and ballistic missiles and strike drones at targets in Ukraine early on Thursday, causing damage in the cities of Odesa and Kryvyi Rih, Ukrainian officials said.
Russian-backed officials in southern Ukraine have accused Kyiv of using British-supplied long-range missiles to strike a bridge connecting Kherson province with the Crimean peninsula. A series of photos and videos circulating on Telegram on Thursday showed a large crater on the bridge, and debris littering the roads. There were no casualties reported.
Ukraine and Moldova have made good progress on their journey to becoming members of the EU, a European commissioner has said. The EC reportedly made clear that Ukraine had a way to go to complete the seven steps the EU outlined last year when it granted Kyiv the status of a candidate for membership.
Russia is 99.9% certain to quit a UN-brokered deal on the safe wartime passage of Black Sea grain in July as it no longer needs Ukrainian ports to export ammonia, a senior Ukrainian diplomat has said.
Volodymyr Zelenskiy reportedly said Ukrainian spies believed Russia was plotting an incident to release radiation from the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia plant in southern Ukraine, Europe’s largest nuclear plant, an allegation denied by the Kremlin.
Updated
